Scars
by AngelicDemonSuki
Summary: Iv'e been abused, ingnored, unloved and hate by most everyone all my life. Will I be saved before I cut too deep? Someone please save me from this dark hell! NejiTen AU. Minor OOC ness. Read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello and welcome to my new fic, this one is a Neji and Tenten so yeah I had a totally different storyline to it but I decided that I didn't like it and chose this one I think that this one is better anyways lol so yeah review and stuff**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Flashback"_

"_**Texting"**_

**Scars chapter 1: The Outcast**

I walk to my locker, avoiding eye contact with everyone, in this school I'm the outcast, the freak, the nerd and the list goes on and on.

I pull up the sleeve of my hoodie a little so I can see my watch, it read 2:45, I only had ten minutes to get to the meeting place and so that I'll hopefully be spared for today.

"OMG, IT'S LIKE, THEM!" some random fangirl screamed

After opening my locker I looked to see fangirls screaming at a few boys, each one hoping to be their future girlfriend.

From the view of my giant fake glasses I could see all of them; Naruto the bubbly blonde, his quite girlfriend Hinata looked worriedly at him, Kiba, a well known dog lover, was arguing with said blonde, Sasuke and Sakura, a well known couple, were holding hands, Rock Lee was trying to get Sakura's attention, Shino seemed to be in his own world, Ino was annoying Shikamaru, Shikamaru was being annoyed, Chouji was eating chips and then there was Neji.

Neji has long dark brown hair that is so long that at first glance you would think that he was a girl; his eyes are pupiless white pearls, he always wears a gray headband so that its covers his forehead and he never seems to wear any colours all he wears is white, black or gray.

His gaze went from straight ahead to me; I let out a silent 'eep' and turned away as quickly as I could, grabbing some papers from my locker and closing it quickly.

'_What were you doing? You know that he would never date you!' _a voice screamed in my head, I hung my head in shame; I knew it was right but I couldn't help doing it.

Bumping into something broke me from my trance; I fell backwards and landed on my butt, my papers scattered on the floor, it took me a moment to register what happened and when I did a hand reached out to me to help me up.

I looked up to see the face of the owner of said hand and my eyes widened in shock, it was Neji, I looked down in embarrassment and began to pick up my papers, I noticed that a few were missing and I began to panic, I knew that I was going to be in big trouble if I didn't have them all, a hand appeared in front of me holding the missing papers.

Already knowing who the hand belonged to; I took them and mumbled a quick 'thank you' and walked away to what was probably going to hurt for like a week.

I walked outside and went around the right side of the school and just as I was about to round the corner, I heard something but turning around I saw nothing, so I kept moving.

When I rounded the corner, I could see a group of 15 teens, all male, all from my school, staring at me with smug looks on their faces.

Walking through the group, I made my way to the one teen in the back, the leader of the group.

"H-here are y-your papers s-sir" I said as I held out the papers for him to take.

Then without warning, his fist collided with my stomach, knocking the air out of me. I fell to my knees, clutching my stomach in pain, breathing heavily.

I looked up at the leader and he glared down at me, his fists balled as he said "I failed that science test because of your false notes and you know what that means"

Not giving me the time to answer he round-house kicked me to the side of my head, knocking off my glasses and causing them to break upon impact, I hit the ground like some sort of doll that some kid threw across the room.

The other group members closed in on me, like a pack of wolves and I was their prey.

They began to beat my fragile body, punching and kicking me with no second thought, I covered my head with my arms, all I could do was hope that the pain would stop soon.

"_P-please stop!"_

"What do you think you're doing?" someone yelled

The beating ceased "we're punishing the nerd. What does it look like?" one of the thugs said

"You have no right to do that!" the voice called out

"Says who?" the leader growled

"Me!" The voice called out again "and if you hurt her one more time I'll kill you!"

"Oh really?" the leader's voice called out in a taunting manner "You mean like this?" he called out, as he delivered a kick to my back, causing me to yelp in pain like a whipped puppy.

"Ok that's it! Sick 'em Akamaru!" a forth voice called out, afterwards I heard barking, growling, cries of pain and finally the sound of peoples feet as they ran past me.

"Good boy Akamaru!" the voice said, being answered with a couple of barks from said Akamaru.

I huddled myself into a ball, thoughts about what was going to happen swirled around in my head.

"Hey are you alright?" someone said from behind me

'_Don't trust him! He's only going to hurt you more' _at the voice's harsh words I whimpered and tried to huddle myself into a ball even more so then I already was.

"Hey don't be scared, I won't hurt you" the owner of the voice placed a hand on my shoulder, causing me to flinch at the contact.

I felt someone take me from my laying position and gently lifting me into a sitting position, holding me to his chest and wrapping his arms around me, holding my shaking body in a warm embrace.

After awhile I stopped shaking but the man refused to let go of me.

"Hello, my name is Neji, what is yours?" Neji said in a nice gentle voice

"T-...Tenten..." I stuttered quietly

"Ok then, Tenten, how long has those men been doing this to you?" he asked

"S-since the beginning o-of the school year" I said quietly, his hold on me tightening slightly as I said this.

"Tenten, why do you let them?" Neji asked

"Normally they'd l-let me g- go on, unless their t-ticked off about something" I replied I haven't talk to anyone this much in so long.

"Why do you come this way anyway?" Neji asked me again

"It's a s-short cut to m-my house" I said I then looked up slowly at him "M-may I l-leave please?"

He gave me a gentle smile "Sure" he said as he let go of me.

After they helped me up and making sure that I could walk properly, I took full notice of my situation, that's when I realized that Neji had...helped...me.

My glasses were broken beyond repair thank god that I didn't really need them and that they were just for show.

I began to walk away; until I felt someone grab my arm, as I turned around I saw that it was Neji who had stopped me.

Before I could ask him anything he held out something to me, I realised that it was my cell phone; I took it and mumbled a quick thank you before turning and leaving, walking into the woods behind the school slowly and disappearing from the view of the boys.

**Later:**

After completing my homework, I went to my room in my one bedroom apartment and reached in under my bed to find **it**.

A pocket knife.

I opened it to the knife part, holding it above my wrist, I closed my eyes and felt the blade cut through my skin enjoying the pain it gave me, I smiled evilly as I did this twice more, I was about to cut myself a fourth time, but I heard something, a beeping.

I stopped the bleeding and wrapped my wrist in bandages.

Minutes later, I found out that it was my cell phone, soon finding it on the kitchen counter.

I looked to see what the message said; I nearly dropped the phone when seeing who it was from.

It read: _**Hello Tenten**_

From: Neji Hyuga

**Lol I love doing this to you read and review plz?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Thanks 4 reviewing and stuff so here's the next chappie 4 u peoples and the next one won't be up till i have 10 or more reviews **

**Soooooo i say hahahahahahahahahahaha for no reason**

**Oh and i'm gonna start replying 2 reviews :D**

HappyAsDaySadAsNight94: **First reviewer woot! And thank you so much, it made me happy to read your review :D**

DarkAnonymous324: **Lol thanks, sorry for the late update I've been busy :/ and I'd tell you if she does buuuuut I don't wanna :P**

cinnamon stick: **Yeah i felt kinda bad writing that... I'm such a bad person *cries in corner***

crazypaige1306: **Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! And it's been continued :D**

nejitenfan: **Updated**

Angel-Kitty-Devil: **I :DD**

MelancholyMadness: **Well i got punched in the face once, and it huuuuuuurrrrrt ;_: and you have just given me an idea for a future chapter :D thank you**

**I does not own Naruto *sob***

**Enjoy**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Flashback"_

_**Texting**_

Neji texted me...

...

Am I dreaming? Someone hit me.

I slap myself.

Apparently not... Ow.

Another beep indicated that I received another message: _**You there?**_

A few pressed buttons later, I sent my reply: _**Um yeah...Hi**_

His reply was almost instant:_** Great so r u ok? Did those guys seriously hurt you or anything?**_

Aww he cares that's so sweet, I inwardly slapped myself, well no duh he'd be concerned after someone got gang beaten: _**Nah a few bruises and I might be a little stiff tomorrow but ill be fine :)**_

_**Thats good so what are svhdjsvyhjcvshjxcvsv udnuanxuuqvixv**_

_**O.o what the fudge?**_

_**Sorry my roommate tried to take my phone**_

_**U have a roommate?**_

_**Yup, u?**_

_**Nope I live alone.**_

_**Don't u get lonely **_

_**Umm... no not really I'm kinda used to it**_

_**Oh...**_

_**Uh...yeah**_

_**So what what's ur favourite colour**_

I never thought about that _**dunno you**_

_**Um gray I guess**_

We spent hours texting, so long that I had to keep my phone on the charger to prevent it from dying, then I started to wonder what time it was; _**Hey Neji what time is it?**_

_**Uh it's 7:23 am...**_

...

_**OH CRAP GOT TO GO!**_

_**Yeah bye!**_

I began to run around the house like a chicken with its head cut off as I changed my clothes, fixed my hair, brushed my teeth, grabbed my school crap and the keys to my apartment and bolted out the door, only to run back and close it again.

Running out of the apartment complex and taking the short cut to the school, I had to stop to take a small breather... I'm not really physically active.

I checked my watch. 7:32 am. Homeroom starts at 7:45 I still had time.

Deciding on walking the rest of the way, I searched my bag to see if I had forgotten any home work pages' when I heard yelling:

"NEJI HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO POOR AKAMARU"

I neared the end of the short cut to see the Kings and Queens of Konoha High standing around were I was beat up yesterday, most of them seemed bored, others taking minor interest in the game of rock paper scissors that Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki were playing.

Neji, ignoring the furious dog lover, noticed me and walked towards me, his eyes piercing through me like a hawk.

I stood frozen, not sure about what to do, as he was standing right in front of me, gazing emotionlessly down at me; "Come here" he grabbed my wrist gently but firmly as he dragged me towards the group.

Thoughts raced through my head like crazy, I felt mentally disabled for a couple of moments, 'til we approached the group, all eyes were on me and I hated it.

"Everyone this is Tenten" Neji said gesturing to me; they all stared at me, expecting an answer.

I flushed at the attention that I was getting and lowered my head in embarrassment while quietly stuttering:

"Um... H-hi"

There was a short moment of silence until it was broken by one of the girl's squealing:

"OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE SO CUTE!"

I was grabbed from behind and was spun around very fast as squealing rang in my ear.

"INO PUT HER DOWN! NOW!" someone growled but I can't tell who it was because my brain is confused.

"Hmph, Fine!"

She let go and I started to stagger around like a drunk person.

"Youthful Tenten, are you okay?" he sounded worried

"Everything's s-spinning" I managed to say, then I crash into someone, a man, how do I know this? No boobs. Said man wrapped his arms around me, most likely to keep me from falling over.

Everything stopped spinning and I saw/realized that Neji had his arms wrapped firmly around my waist.

I turned red, seeing his gaze focused on my own.

"So Neji..." Kiba trailed off "is she your new girlfriend?"

Neji let go of me without warning and I almost landed on my butt, almost.

"I am not his girlfriend!" I exclaimed; my face flushed with embarrassment.

He held his hands up in surrender "Hey! Take it easy I was just messing with ya!"

I calmed down a little bit and sighed "its fine"

Sakura left her boyfriend's side and walked towards me with her hand held out for me to shake. I took it and smiled politely.

She smiled back "Sorry about them, they were dropped on their heads when they were little" she giggled, ignoring the yells of protest.

I couldn't help but snicker a little "Like I said its fine" Well I guess I should introduce myself "I'm Tenten by the way"

She smiled. What is it with everyone and smiling today? "Well Tenten I'm-"

"Haruno Sakura, yes I know" I interrupted; I hope that I didn't sound rude.

"You do?" she asked seemingly confused.

Before I could respond her boyfriend spoke. "Sakura, I don't want to sound arrogant but we are the kings and queens of the school, the only reason she wouldn't know that is if she was a new student, which I seriously doubt."

"Wow! The Teme can actually talk!" Naruto Uzumaki said with false surprise, which earned him a fist to the head by said Teme.

This started an argument between the Blonde and the Raven, so all of us watched the argument play out with concern, me because, well… I hate fighting and them for reasons that I don't know.

"Um, e-excuse me, T-Tenten-chan" said a soft voice. I looked to see Hinata, Neji's cousin standing at my left side, a small smile on her lips and her cheeks slightly flushed. "Um, may- may I s-see your s-schedule"

I nodded, opening my binder flipping to the last pages and pulled my schedule out and handing it to her only then remembering the stupid little drawing that I drew at the bottom of the page.

It wasn't anything bad like blood or gore, no, it was just a chibi version of myself (with glasses) with a speech bubble pointing to me saying 'Perverted health teachers FTL'.

"Oh! Y-Your in Neji nii's a-and Lee- Kun's grade" she said, handing me back my schedule "I-I agree with y-you J-Jiraiya- sensei is k-kind of annoying"

I nodded, mumbling a 'yeah', before taking back the paper and putting it where it belongs.

That's when the bell decided to ring.

We said our goodbyes as we ran to get to class on time.

The morning seemed to go by so fast and I found out that either Neji or Lee was in all of my classes and I would see the other royals in the halls, nodding, smiling or greeting me as they passed, then I would get pushed or shoved to the floor when they were out of sight.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the lunch bell. Crap, I hate lunch.

I sighed putting my sketch of Ai from Hell Girl away, gathering my things and exited my class to find Neji standing there, waiting for me.

"Come on, Tenten" he said, gently grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the cafeteria.

"B-But Neji I-I-I c-can't sit w-with you g-guys" I stuttered out, stumbling over my own feet as I was dragged closer to the caf **(1)**.

He stopped and turned to face me "Oh? Why not"

"Uh-I, um… You see I-er…" I stuttered out, but not coming to a conclusion.

With a triumphant smirk he resumed dragging me towards the caf, the only sound I heard was my heart pounding in my chest.

He continued to drag me 'til we reached the outdoor seating area and towards a large table, where all the kings and queens were sitting, eating and chatting.

Getting even more nervous than I already was as Neji sat down and sat me next to him.

"Hi Tennie!" Ino smiled.

Tennie? "H-hi"

"No lunch?" Choji asked while chowing on some sort of bread.

"… no" I replied turning crimson as my stomach decided to roar its disapproval.

Neji opened a bento box and I saw the variety of food that was previously hidden in the small box "Do you like sushi?" he asked holding a piece in a pair of chopsticks in front of my face.

I swallowed the saliva that had been pooling in my mouth and nodded.

"Well then eat" he urged, moving the sushi closer to my mouth.

I happily obeyed as I parted lips and inched closer as I waited to accept the food in mouth.

Just as I was about to eat it, someone grabbed my hair buns and yanked me out of my seat and into a larger more muscular male student who ended up spilling his food everywhere.

He angrily turned to me and he seemed to get even angrier as he raised a fist and prepared to strike. I closed my eyes preparing for the impact.

It never came.

I slowly opened my eyes to see that Neji was holding the guy's fist, from what I could tell he was furious seeing as the guy's expression was one of complete horror.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE KARIN!" I heard Sakura's furious yell.

I looked to my left to see Sakura being held back by Sasuke, Choji and Naruto as she was trying to strangle the red-haired bitch in front of her.

Karin wore a smug expression as she stared Sakura down though anyone could see that she was terrified by the look in her eyes and the fact that she was shaking "That bitch took my seat what else am I supposed to do?"

"WHY YOU-!" Sakura began to screech but was cut off by yours truly.

"no… it's fine I'll fine somewhere else to sit" I said grabbing my binder and walking away as fast as I could.

_Behind a big tree:_

"Stupid Bitch, messed up my hair" I growled, taking my hair out of its usual style and letting the hair roll down my shoulders and back as I sat down behind the large tree that grew in the school.

I sighed and looked up at the light that fluttered through leaves, enjoying the warmth and silence; I closed my eyes, letting a moment of peace come over me.

"Hello" someone said to my right.

My eyes snapped open and I jumped to my feet turning to my right to see that Neji was kneeling by the spot where I was just sitting.

"Neji! You gave me a heart attack!" I exclaimed trying to calm my breathing.

He stared at me seemingly mesmerised by something. "S-Sorry"

I sat back down and attempted to tied my hair back up but Neji's hand stop me "Don't, it looks nice down" he said, somewhat dazed as his other hand played with a strand of my deep brown locks.

I looked away feeling my cheeks turn crimson. I Looked back to see him staring intently at me, slowly inching his face closer to my own.

I leaned closer to him, cheeks turning a deeper shade of crimson, closing my eyes a halfway.

Our lips almost touching.

The bell rang, totally ruining our moment.

I got up and put my hair back in its two buns.

Neji handed me a bento box "Here you can eat this later" he turned and then he left, leaving me red-faced and confused.

_End of the day _**(I'm such a lazy ass -_-")**

Great end of the day, let's go home and be super bored to death! Yay!

I went to my locker, got my crap and left the school building without any problems (for once).

I walked around the side of the school my thoughts wandering to the events that happened today.

Just as I turned the corner I froze as I saw Neji leaning against the wall with a book bag hanging off of his arm.

"N-Neji, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Waiting for you" he replied and for some ungodly reason I blushed.

"Why?" HOLY SON OF A COW I DIDN'T STUTTER!

"I'm coming over to your place" NEJI SAY WHAT?

"Oh, okay then…" WHY DID I AGREE?

We started to walk in an uncomfortable silence, and every time I tried to say something the words would get caught in my throat so no words came out.

After a few minutes we arrived at my crappy apartment building, which Neji decided to point out "These apartment complexes are normally for extremely poor families, Tenten are you living in poverty?"

Derp. "Wha-? No of course not I just find it easier to pay for and it's close to the school so…" I trailed off, hoping he'd get the hint.

He did and nodded.

We walked into the building, down a hall and to my apartment.

I opened the door, blushing from embarrassment.

My apartment is laughably small, my bed (twin sized), kitchen (really cramped) and living room (a small television and table) makes up one room, the second being the bathroom (which is only big enough for one person to be in at a time.

I took off my shoes and walked in setting my bag at the end of my bed, I heard shuffling noises behind me which informed me that Neji was doing the same.

I sat down on my bed and watched Neji walk over and sit down next to me.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked.

We spent a few hours watching TV and talking.

"He didn't" I managed through a fit of giggles

"I'm not joking!" he smiled.

We both laughed until a harsh knock sounded at the door.

I gulped and went to answer it.

"Y-Yes?" I stuttered.

"Hey do you have your pay? You're gonna be evicted if you don't have it by the end of this week" my landlord spat.

"Uh, n-no…" I mumbled.

"How much does she owe?" Neji said from right behind me.

The landlord named a price that I couldn't match.

Neji didn't say anything; instead he pulled out his wallet and paid him what I owed and a little extra.

"N-Neji!" I was shocked, how could he have that much money?

"Hey you gave me extra" landlord spoke up.

"Yes she's moving in with me that should cover whatever extra bills that may require" he replied calmly.

NEJI SAY WHAT?

**BY'S WE ALL KNOW HOW LAZY SUKI IS RIGHT? RIGHT. WELL, SHE'S BEEN IN A PUBLIC PLACE, THAT'S RIGHT, I'M TALKING WITH OTHER PEOPLE I'M TALKING NO MORE ANTISOCIAL CHICK STUCK IN HER ROOM READING FANFICTIONS, NO, NOW SHES WRITING THEM. O: WHAT IS THIS?**

**ANYWAYS, CASSIE LOVES YOU LONG TIME, :D **


	3. Chapter 3

**SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYY**

**Microsoft word stopped working on my lap top soo I have 2 type this in a library - -" **

**Please fogive Suki-Chan!**

**SUKI-CHAN IS A GOOD GIRL!1!11!11111!1111!1**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Flashback"_

_**Texting**_

"Yes she's moving in with me that should cover whatever extra bills that may require" he replied calmly.

NEJI SAY WHAT?

I stared at him, mouth hanging open like a fish.

"N-Neji!" I stuttered, unable to say anything else.

He turned his gaze to me, his face expressionless but his eyes held determination, which kind of scared me.

"Alright she'll have to be out of here within the week." The landlord sneered, turning and leaving, slamming the door behind him.

I looked down at my feet, too ashamed to meet his gaze.

Neji placed a hand on my shoulder. "You ok?"

"Yeah…" my voice came out quiet.

Neji tilted my head upward, forcing me to look into his white eyed gaze. "Pack up some clothes and whatever else you'll need. I'll be waiting outside."

Glad I have a say in this.

He walked out the door and closed it giving me some privacy.

I sighed and went to find a different bag, seconds later I found last year's book bag.

I stuffed clothes, a couple of books and my personal hygiene items inside.

Taking one last look around the room, I remembered something.

That damn pocket knife.

Diving onto my bed and reaching underneath the pillow and grabbed the knife running into the bathroom.

I pulled up my sleeve and slashed my wrist twice with the sharp knife, letting the blood flow down from the cuts to my open hand and drip into the sink.

I watched it, strangely disgusted with it. Weird, usually this helps and makes me feel happier.

Ignoring it I stopped the bleeding, wrapping my wrist with bandages.

Something black on the floor caught my eye.

Wristbands.

I eyed it a bit before putting them on both wrists.

Throwing the damned knife in my bag, I grabbed both my bags (school bag and clothes bag) and left without taking a glance at the place that I've called home for the past few years.

Neji was waiting for me outside, leaning against the wall opposite to my (old) apartment. "Ready to go?"

I nodded and together we left the piece of crap apartment complex.

"Hey I need to get something to eat before I go home okay?" Neji said as we walk into a more populated area of town.

Saying nothing, I nodded.

We reached a café on a corner, a large sign above it said: _Cherry Blossom Café_.

We both walked in, Neji immediately walking over to the register.

I followed him, not having anything better to do.

A blue eyed pale blonde, who I recognized as Ino was standing behind the counter, sky blue eyes searched their surroundings for something interesting.

She seemed too really light up when she saw Neji and me. "Hey Neji! Hey Tennie what's up?" she smiled brightly.

"Not much, how about yourself?" Neji replied, taking a seat on a barstool in front of the counter while letting his book bag slide to the floor.

I followed suit nodding a greeting to Ino.

The pale blonde sighed "Oh I'm just standing here being bored out of my mind" she pouted, blowing some stray hair from her bang out of her face, then sighing "There's absolutely nothing to do here! No new gossip! Nothing! I swear I'm going to die of boredom if something interesting doesn't happen soon!" she whined.

I kind of scared of her now.

"You'll be fine Ino" Neji sighed. "Cinnamon roll and a medium black coffee please"

The pale blonde rolled her eyes and wrote his order on a notepad that she got from nowhere "Yeah, sure" she replied dryly, then her attention turned to me "So what would you like?" she smiled.

"U-um…" I looked at the large menu board on the wall behind her. "I would like tea and um a chocolate chip cookie…" I spoke quietly

"Mmmhmm…" she nodded, writing it down then walking to a door behind the counter "be right back!"

I watched as she left, finding nothing else interesting to look at I stared at my worn out sneakers, once bright and clean now dull and torn.

A hand on my shoulder made me tense up "Tenten…" I relaxed a little bit.

"Yeah…" I looked up nervously at him, almost scared.

He smiled gently at me "You'll be fine Tenten" he said softly, his hand now rubbing soothing circles in my shoulder "Lee and I won't hurt you. I promise"

I felt my cheek heat up a little as I gave him a small smile "Thank you …" I whispered.

We just stared into each other's eyes for a few short moments until Ino came back with our food "Here ya go guys!" she chirped.

Neji's hand left my shoulder quickly and went to grab his coffee.

I picked my tea cup and took a sip; I closed my eyes happy to drink something other than water.

"So Tenten did Neji ask you out yet?" Ino asked mischievously.

I choked on my tea and I heard Neji growl; "Ino…"

"Jesus guys! I was just kidding! Geez!" she held her hands up in surrender/ defense from Neji's icy glare.

"Ino are there any job positions left here…?" I managed to get out without coughing.

"Umm… yeah! Sakura quit last week so there's a waitress job up for grabs" she smiled "You want it? 'Cause Sakura's mom owns the shop I could ask her for you?"

I smiled, becoming less afraid of her now "Yeah! Sure!"

"Awesome! Lee works here too so you'll get to know him a little more" she beamed.

I chuckled quietly and began to drink my tea again.

Ino then started to talk up a storm, while I nodded and commented when necessary.

I was about to reach for my cookie when Neji's voice rang out; "Could we have our food to go?"

WHAT?

"Sure! No problem!" Ino chirped.

I sat frozen with shock, and maybe denial, as Ino put my cookie in a brown paper bag. She held it out me. I almost got to take it when Neji snatched it from her.

"Grab your bags" Neji mumbled while reaching to grab his own.

I did as I was instructed to do and Neji did something that made really tense.

He grabbed my wrist.

My bad wrist.

He started to drag me to and out the door while I managed to call out a 'goodbye' to Ino.

After a while, I wasn't being dragged by Neji, instead we were walking right next to each-other, but he was still holding on to my wrist.

I was lost in thought while staring at the cars passing by but I was startled when I felt Neji's hand and fingers lace themselves with my own.

I turned a deep red and gaped at him, only to see that he was lost in his own thoughts "N-Neji"

He seemed to be a little bit startled, then he looked at me and then down to our connected hands and let go immediately while muttering an apology.

I nodded and looked away, kind of missing the feeling of his hand on my own.

About five minutes later, we ended up at a park. A few kids were still running around laughing and squealing happily.

We walked up a small hill and sat down on a park bench and pulled out our food (I also pulled out the bento box he gave me earlier) and started to eat in silence.

It felt like I was done in seconds and when I looked at him, Neji was staring at me like I had ten heads, which would be freaking cool; "What?" I asked.

"You ate all that in less than five minutes…"

I felt myself blush "O-Oh?"

"Yeah…"

He finished his food, a short while after that. As we sat together on the park bench, watching the deserted playground, I couldn't help but want to break the silence, which was weird because I'm a really quiet person.

I had just opened my mouth when Neji opened his; "Tenten…"

"Y-Yes…?"

"How did you end up living like that?" his expression showed a lot of emotion, worry, confusion, hurt and… something else.

"It's a long story…" I mumbled looking down and gripping the fabric of my jeans.

He put his hand on mine; "I am willing to listen" he gave me a sympathetic smile.

I looked at him for a moment and then I looked back down to my hands and sighed; "Alright… But it starts really early in my life…"

"That's fine"

I gulped, trying to find the right words to start; "Well… My parents were in an arranged marriage and my dad was a little bit abusive and, well one night he raped my mom and she ended up getting pregnant…"

I looked at Neji, who seemed stunned by this new found information, before continuing.

"…She gave birth to me even though she hated my dad; she took care of me, loved me and protected me from my dad, who would try to hurt me like he did to mom and I learned very early to stay away from him. We were fine until one night…"

_A young Tenten sat at the kitchen table, drawing a picture for her mother who was somewhere else in the house._

_She hummed happily dragging her orange crayon across the piece of paper. She froze as she heard the front door slam open and shut "TENTEN YOU LITTLE BITCH! WHERE ARE YOU?" her father's slurred yelling tore through the once quiet air of the house._

"He came home drunk and looking for me for some reason. But that wasn't all…"

_He appeared in the entrance way to the kitchen a shiny metal object glinting dangerously in his hand._

"… He had a knife…"

_Tenten's eyes widened in both shock and fear. She jumped down from her seat and tried to escape only to be grabbed on the arm by a large hand. She screamed in terror as the knife was raised for a fatal blow._

"… He raised the k-knife to hit me but…"

_Tenten closed her eyes and waited for the impact._

"… H-he missed…"

_Instead she heard a yelp of pain and warm liquid splattered on her face._

_She opened her eyes and saw that he hadn't hit her._

_He hit her mother._

_A deep gash was sliced into her mother's perfect face._

"… H-he hit m-mom…" I choked out

"_MOM!" Tenten screamed._

"_TENTEN RUN!" her mother yelled back at her as she fought with her husband for the knife_

_Tenten ran away, wanting to listen to her mother's words ran and locked herself in the bathroom. Drowning out her mother's screams for the rest of the night_

"I got out of the bathroom at about noon the next day but…" I clenched my teeth and gripped my jeans tighter

"_Mom no!"_

"… She was D-dead" I was holding back tears now.

_I'm so pathetic_. Iscreamed at myself, as I felt myself start to shake.

"Dad beat me 'til I was 8 and he got arrested" I gulped "I was handed from foster family to foster family, none of them treated me well, they didn't hurt me or anything they just verbally abused me."

I glanced at Neji; he was glaring down at his own clenched fists.

"I started to save up money for awhile and after I earned enough I ran away from my current foster family and bought that apartment and I was able to afford rent but I lost my job awhile ago and…"

I couldn't hold back the tears that had been welling up in my eyes. They started to fall as I shook and sobbed.

"Tenten…" I felt strong arms wrap themselves around me. Neji's arms.

I hugged him, gripping tightly to the back of his jacket and sobbing into his chest.

I'm not sure what happened afterwards, all I know is that Neji picked me up bridal style and carried me to his house. I'm not sure how long it took because I was drifting in and out of sleep.

The next thing I knew, I was being laid down gently on a bed and a comforting warmth was leaving me "… noo" I whined.

The warmth came back and seemed to wrap itself around me.

I smiled in my half asleep dazed and snuggled closer to the warmth around me.

"Don't worry Tenten I'll protect you. I promise I'll never hurt you…" was the last thing I heard before finally falling into unconsciousness.

…

I woke up, surrounded by a soothing warmth.

I sighed contently trying to get a far into the warmth as possible.

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

What's that?

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

Is that someone's heart?

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

Is it mine?

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

No… Then whose is it?

_Ba-dump._

I cracked an eye open.

Oh. My. God.

_Ba-dump._

Is that…?

_Ba-dump._

I looked up.

_Ba-dump._

Neji.

I had just slept with Neji Hyuga.__

**Lol u like?**

**Read and review let's get me to 20 reviews :D**

**Suki love u sooooooooo freaking much! 333333333**


End file.
